Electrical socket connectors



April 9, 1957 s. G. YOUJNG 2,788,506

ELECTRICAL. SOCKETVCONNECTORS Filed Jan. 19, 1954 United States PatentELECTRICAL SOCKET CONNECTORS Sidney Geotfrey Young, London, EnglandApplication January 19, 1954, Serial No. 405,016

Claims. (CL33-9-256) This invention relates to electrical socketconnectors of the type adapted to receive and grip. resiliently a pin ofan electric. plug or a. like member inserted therein. Although the pinmay be. of any cross-section, the inven? tion is particularly applicableto a socket connector designed to receive a pin of either round orrectangular cross-section.

The objects of the invention comprise the provision of an improvedpin-gripping efiFect and of a construction of socket especially suitedto simple and economical manufacture and assembly.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated diagrammatically on anenlarged scale and by way of example only in the annexed drawing, inwhich Figure l is a side view of a socket connector according to theinvention prior to insertion thereof of a pin of an electric plug or thelike;

Figure 2 is a similar but fragmentary view of the same connector withsuch a pin partly inserted;

Figure 3 is a similar but fragmentary view of the same connector withthe pin pushed home;

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an end view of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a section on the lines VI-VI of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 of a modification.

The connector shown in Figs. 1 to 6 consists of a stamped out orotherwise formed piece of stiff sheet metal having suitable electricallyconducting properties, such piece being bent at one end into a roundedU-shaped portion 1 including opposed, substantially parallel side limbs(as best seen in Figure 5 or 6) and at the other end 2 into a suitableshape for connection to a cable or other terminal. This latter end 2 ofthe connector is shown of round cross-section in the drawing, but it maybe modified as required for any particular application, the novelaspects of the invention not being concerned with this end of theconnector.

In each of the side limbs 7 of the U-shaped portion 1 of the connector,there is cut a slot 3 of double V shape. In these two slots 3 aresupported a number of resilient plates 4 which extend across the opentop of the U- shaped portion 1. In the drawing, four such plates areshown. This number may however vary widely. Even one such plate maysuffice, but usually it is preferred to employ at least two plates. Byso doing it thus be comes possible to make the lowermost plate of amaterial particularly suitable for establishing contact with the pin, e.g. Phosphor-bronze, and to make the remaining plate or plates of amaterial such as spring steel having the desired mechanical properties.When only one plate is used it will preferably be of a compositestructure or compromise material having as far as possible goodmechanical and electrical properties. In addition, the provision of aplurality of plates has the advantage of permitting the use of thinsection springs for each indi- 2,788,506 P te e pr- 9,, 1957 vidualplate, while at the sametime providing a combination the total effect ofwhich isto give. adequate" 5 on Figure 4), in order that the. pin shouldalways make contact first and break: contact last with'this-plate.

The plates 4 maybe held against lateral. movement out of the slots 3 bymeans of" a' casing (not shown) surrounding theconnector, or in anyother convenient i, manner;

The action on insertion of a pin 6 is shown. clearly in Figure 2;Firstly, the plates are tilted by virtue of the." shape of the slots 3,and finally, as the pin 6 ispushed home, they are returned to ahorizontal position and centrally bowed, as appears from Figure 6. This,latter figure shows how the lower contact-making plate is,

pressed against the lower surfaces 8 of one end of the,'

slots 3 by' reason of suchbowing ofthe plates.

The form that the slots 3 take may vary widely. For example, instead ofthe closed construction provided in the illustrated embodiment, theslots may be open at the end of the connector at which the pin 6 isintroduced. They could then be limited in their forward movement onwithdrawal of the pin by suitable surfaces on the casing. Furthermore,with either an open or a closed slot construction, one or more of theplates may be made of such a length relatively to the slots, as toextend beyond the end of the portion 1 of the connector. As a furtheralternative form of construction, the slots may be rectangular insteadof the double V shape shown. When this latter construction is employed,and if de sired when the double V-shaped slots are employed, the lowerend edge of the U-shaped portion 1 may be bent downwardly slightly toform a lip and thus facilitate entry of the pin 6.

As already explained, the embodiment described is only given by way ofexample and numerous modifications are possible within the scope of theinvention. For example, if a pin of cross-section other than round is tobe accommodated, then the U-section of the socket will becorrespondingly modified. In particular, for use with a pin ofrectangular cross-section, the base of the U may be flat instead ofarcuate, or the U-section may be pointed at the bottom to receive asquare pin arranged on one edge.

Finally, the base of the U-shaped portion 1 of the form of the inventionshown in Figs. 1 through 6 may be removed altogether and replaced by asecond set of plates 4 which extend through slots adjacent the loweredge of side plates 7', such second set of plates 4 consisting either ofa single plate or of a number of plates similarly constructed anddisposed as are the plates 4 above described. This latter type ofconstruction is shown in Fig. 7, from which it will be seen that theconnector also includes a pair of opposed, substantially parallel plateswhich constitute the straight sides 7 of the connector, such straightsides each having adjacent their upper edge a slot similar to thoseshown at 3 in Figs. 1 to 3, and such upper slots, in the preferred formof the present invention, bearing four resilient plates 4.

This invention is particularly noteworthy in providing a construction ofextreme simplicity of manufacture and assembly, due to the simple shapesemployed and the small number of parts required.

I claim:

1. An electric socket connector of the type adapted to receive and gripresiliently a pin of an electric plug inserted therein, such connectorcomprising an elongated hollow socket member of generally U-shapedinternal crosssection, the side limbs of said socket connector eachhaving an axially-extending slot therein adjacent the upper edge thereofand the resilient plate extending across from a slot in one side limb ofthe socket member to the slotin the opposite side limb of such member.

2. A socket connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality ofsuperposed plates is employed extending between the slots in the sidelimbs of the socket member, and wherein the plate which is adjacent theinterior of the said hollow socket member is made of-a material chosenprimarily for its electrically conducting property and at least one ofthe remaining plates is of a material chosen primarily for itsmechanical property.

3. A socket connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the underside edgesof the said slots are shaped to provide a fulcrum about which the plateor plates may be pivoted by pressure from an inserted plug pin from aposition in which they extend back from the mouth of the socket membergenerally parallel to the lower edge there of, to a position in whichthey extend back from the mouth of the socket member while beinginclined towards such lower edge.

4. An electric socket connector of the type adapted to receive and gripresiliently a pin of an electric plug inserted therein, such connectorcomprising an elongated holallel side members and means extending acrossthe lower part of the socket member to form the bottom thereof,

said side members each having an axially-extending slot therein adjacentthe upper edge thereof, and a resilient member extending across the topof said socket member from the slot in one side member to the slot inthe other side member, said resilient member constituting the top ofsaid socket member and resiliently engaging the pin inserted in saidsocket member.

5. A socket connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein said resilientmember comprises a plurality of superimposed plates, and wherein theplate which is adjacent the interior of the said hollow socket member ismade of a material chosen primarily for its electrically conductingproperty and at least one of the remaining plates is of a materialchosen primarily for its mechanical property.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,987,127 Rice Jan. 8, 1935 2,546,061 De Beauvais Mar. 20, 19512,582,621 Conrad Jan. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 187,791 Switzerland Oct.1, 1937 997,233 France Sept. 12, 1951

